Consign to Oblivion
by That's 'Mrs. Lupin' to You
Summary: Hermione knew the dangers. It was worth it so long as Harry could be happy... and to possibly see -him- again. But, everything has a price. You never expect to never remember. [RLHG]
Hermione Granger was no fool, although she was positive that people assumed that her intelligence came paired with a lack of emotional observation. Following Sirius' death, Harry had suffered bitterly and the loss of Remus did nothing but worsen that, a stark reminder that all connections to his father were gone. Hermione never pushed him to talk about it but instead chose to provide a bulwark he could cling to whenever he was about to be swept away. She thought that once post-war celebrations had died down and they all settled into a routine normalcy (as much as was possible, anyway), things would improve for him. They didn't. She suspected that with nothing life-threatening to distract him anymore, he had more time to dwell on his new life and the people who couldn't be a part of it. She decided she was determined to help him in any way she could.

* * *

" _Repello inimicum," Hermione murmured. She observed the murky vapor that escaped her wand as it gathered and finally coalesced into an invisible shield in front of her. She took down some notes before straightening up._

 _She repeated the incantation a few times, adding to the shield over and over. Turning toward the shaking wardrobe in the corner, she took a deep breath to mentally prepare before she wandlessly opened the door. Her humanoid boggart made its way toward her, mumbling things she could not yet hear. She felt anxiety creep up and settle in her stomach, despite knowing that it was a simulation of her fear instead of a reality. It didn't affect her any less. Suddenly, the boggart sizzled and burned up quickly as it made contact with the shield, although Hermione was not naïve as to think it was not still there._

" _Riddikulus," she whispered, her hand shaking as she cast the spell. A jar of surrounded the ashes on the floor and she banished it quickly back into the wardrobe where she locked it in._

 _She quickly took down more notes, desperate for a distraction._ Subject immediately burns upon impact with shield, _she wrote._ Almost like spontaneous combustion. Did not disappear completely, but disintegrated into ash like expected. Process quick and unstoppable. _She read over her other notes. All of them said the same thing. 'I think it's time to move on to the next step,' she thought._

* * *

It had been difficult to sneak into the Department of Mysteries, but if Hermione's fifteen year old self could do it, her twenty-six year old self certainly could. She had eerie flashbacks of the night that Sirius died as she entered the chamber with the Veil, and she shivered as the whispers emanating from it reached her ears, floating softly across the room. 'It's too late to turn back now _,'_ she thought and she stiffened her resolve.

She felt so nostalgic carrying her beaded bag, but not necessarily in a good way. 'It feels like an end to the end, so I suppose it technically is good,' she thought wryly. Without the bag's Undetectable Extension Charm, she would never have been able to pull this off. She found it ironic that such an enormous task was relying so heavily on a small, dirty bag from one of the worst times in her life.

Hermione nervously skirted the Veil. She had researched and researched, finding no mention of the Veil anywhere. As such, there was no proof that you had to be dead to enter it and she didn't want to be the first to find out. She stopped at the Veil's east side, placing several paces between her and it. Reaching into her bag she pulled out what looked like a very oddly sized mirror, placing it on the ground facing the Veil. 'It's now or never.'

* * *

 _Hermione had been researching for at least two years before she had a real breakthrough. She deduced that what she needed to do would easily require three more people to have any significant impact on the Veil, and even then, the effect would be weak and poorly executed. Even with her direction, she couldn't be in control of other people's thoughts at all times. Luckily, she wouldn't have to depend on others, which was something she wasn't necessarily good at. She had discovered a way to concentrate magic in a temporary outside source that could expel that magic on command in a concentrated focal point._

 _Anyone who said Muggles had no use in the magical world… ha! Hermione managed to secure three broken spotlights from the junkyard where Arthur pilfered things to tinker with. They didn't work in the Muggle way, but they would work for her. She managed to charm the spotlights to blast magic like a laser beam. Very temporary, of course, but she only needed one shot. Her plan seemed too good to be true, and in a way, it was._

* * *

After Hermione had set up the modified spotlights and returned them to their original size, she reached into her bag to pull out the remaining objects: three glass jars with a partially liquid and partially gaseous substance inside each one, three miniature pensieves, three different objects. She quickly went over her plan in her head, her nerves getting the better of her and manifesting as a need to check and double check the steps. 'Okay… one pensieve, one object, and one jar per spotlight,' she mentally recited. 'Each spotlight will be devoted to one person, and so their spotlights will be filled with my memories of them and an object specific to them… All of the spotlights will contain concentrated magic in a charmed jar. Easy enough. The hard part will be timing everything correctly, but I can do this.'

Hermione made her way to each spotlight, filling the pensieves with specific memories and placing the objects in their appropriate positions. She placed a magical lighter that had belonged to Sirius and something he could barely stand to part from. Hermione shook her head. 'What a disgusting habit.' As a dentists' daughter, she could only cringe. For Remus, she placed a wolf figurine. According to Harry, the Marauders had given the figurine to him in their seventh year, and Remus never parted from it before he died. In the final spotlight, she placed a pair of fingerless gloves. Even now, she couldn't recall a time when Tonks had ever removed them. Staring at the gloves for a long minute with a sad smile, she thought, 'He needs you much more than he needs me.'

* * *

 _Hermione had discovered that her spotlight theory could be crazy enough to work, but it was edged in danger. She wasn't terribly surprised. She was attempting to access a mysterious portal that was the only thing between her and death. She was essentially changing time, altering the timeline by accessing a point before Sirius, Remus, and Tonks had all died. The consequences could be extremely grave. While she knew that changing the timeline was a definite outcome, she wasn't sure what else could happen and that made her anxious._

 _She initially didn't intend to bring back Tonks. Her heart would be broken seeing Tonks and Remus together again. However, Tonks made Remus happy, very happy, and they had a beautiful child together. Teddy deserved to have both of his parents raise him and love him. For Remus' sake, Hermione could do the right thing and step aside._

* * *

Hermione finished charging the jars inside the spotlights with a myriad of spells that she had concocted. It had taken seven years, but she discovered a way to combine a summoning charm with a reversed disintegrating spell. The outcome would be the harnessing of person's essence, whatever existed in the in-between, and concentrate it back into corporeal form. She hadn't truly tested it on human subjects, and so her confidence was built upon shaky ground. 'Worst case scenario,' she thought, 'I die. Cheerful. But I've got to stay positive.'

Drawing a deep breath, Hermione positioned herself in front of the Veil, wand raised. In under a minute, the jars inside the spotlight activated, timed under a handy spell Hermione had placed on them. The spotlights' faces began to glow softly with the power inside the jars, and suddenly, they exploded with light, the power of the spells honing in on the Veil. Hermione quickly fired off the same spell continuously into the face of the Veil.

* * *

" _Arthur, what happens to memories when you place them in a pensieve?" Hermione questioned._

 _Arthur Weasley looked up from his morning paper, addressing Hermione. "Generally, they remain there forever. That's my understanding anyway."_

" _Is it possible to destroy those memories, say through the destruction of a pensieve?"_

 _Arthur looked at her suspiciously. "It wouldn't do for something holding your most precious inner thoughts to be as destructible as, say, a dinner plate. I've never heard of it being done."_

 _Hermione looked relieved. "I was only curious. I think pensieves are fascinating. I've always wanted one."_

 _Arthur's suspicion cleared up slightly, and he nodded. "They are certainly useful."_

* * *

Immediately, Hermione knew something was wrong. Remus' and Sirius' spotlights were functioning as expected but Tonks' spotlight was sputtering erratically with large expulsions of power. There was no way Hermione could fix it with her wand occupied by her own spell. She prayed that it would hold on until the process was complete.

Without warning, silver light began streaming from Hermione's head and into Tonk's spotlight. Soon after, strands began streaming into Sirius' and Remus' spotlights as well and she could do nothing but watch. Panicked and horrified, she began to grow dizzy as, without interruption, the silver strands continued escaping from beneath her curly hair. The Veil began pulsating, and as she began to black out, Hermione saw vague shapes emerge before her vision went dark.

* * *

Remus Lupin was extremely disoriented. Not even a moment ago, he had been fighting Dolohov at Hogwarts and suddenly, he was… wherever this was. Remus opened his eyes and was met with the pitch black openness above him. 'Good Lord, am I blind?'

"…Remus?" Remus gingerly turned his head to find the source of the hoarse voice. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Sirius lying next to him on the dusty stone floor, illuminated by a strangely glowing archway nearby. 'No… not blind. Merlin, that's the Veil.' He was certain he was still out of his mind, because there was no way he AND Sirius could be alive. He certainly would never have gone to the Department of Mysteries again if he could've helped it.

"Padfoot?" he whispered. It was all he could manage.

"Moony… are we alive?" Sirius looked as dazed and confused as he felt.

Remus slowly lifted his arm to place it on his chest. His heart thudded under his ribs. "Yeah… I think I am." He swallowed thickly. "But you shouldn't be. You died."

* * *

" _Some days, I see a dog on the street or hear one barking, and I think of Sirius," Harry confessed to Hermione one night. "That's pathetic, isn't it?"_

" _Oh, Harry, no," Hermione said, feeling deep sadness and compassion for him. "It's just a sign of how much you loved and still love him, and how he will always be an important piece of you. It's better to see him in the small bits of everyday life, rather than forget about him."  
_

 _Harry sighed. "Yeah, you're right, I guess. I just feel so cheated. And with Remus, too. He was becoming a real source of guidance, and he was taken away, too. I feel like everyone I love is going to leave me in the end."_

" _I won't lie to you and say that we'll never leave you," Hermione replied, brushing his hair back from his forehead, "but I can promise you this. We will never leave you willingly. You're my family, and I know Ron agrees. We've been with you for so long now, and I've said it before. We've had innumerable opportunities to leave and lead our own lives, but we won't, because you're important to us and we love you."_

 _Harry smiled crookedly, hugging her tightly. "Thank you, Hermione."_

 _Hermione knew that her words had been a balm on his soul for that moment, but she knew that deep down, he would never completely lose his heartache._

* * *

Sirius looked at him incredulously. "I _died_? When, and how?"

Once Remus struggled to stand up, he spoke in a voice filled with old pain. "Bellatrix killed you. Killing Curse. You didn't see it coming. It happened during the fight in the Department of Mysteries."

Sirius blinked owlishly. "Huh." Remus felt no small measure of irritation.

"You die, leave Harry alone, I lose my best friend, and all you can say is 'huh'," Remus snapped with a feebleness borne from being ripped from the Veil.

Sirius snapped back, "I give a shit, you wanker, but this is a lot to process, don't you bloody well think?"

Remus was about to retort when he glimpsed something over Sirius' shoulder. The muted colors he could see were a stark contrast to the bleak, gray stone by which they were surrounded. He squinted before his eyes widened.

Sirius, annoyed at being ignored, said, "I SAID I give a shit, you-". He stopped short when he noticed Remus staring past him, and turned to look. "What are you staring at?"

"Sirius, is that a _person_?"

Sirius looked surprised. After shooting Remus a quick glance, he cautiously approached the fallen body, ignoring Remus' ' _be careful, you dolt!'_. He jerked in shock. "Remus… it's Hermione!"

Remus paused in berating Sirius, starting. "What?!" He hurried over.

Hermione was incredibly pale, her brown curls a stark contrast to her white skin, and she seemed to be deeply unconscious. Remus' mind was reeling.

"What in the world happened here?" Remus asked faintly, shock setting in.

Sirius stared at Hermione for a few moments without answering. Finally, he said, "Moony… I think Hermione brought me back… and now I'm thinking she brought you back, too."

* * *

" _So you are interested in becoming an Unspeakable? Good for you! The Ministry of Magic is always searching for bright and keen minds to help us make the magical world a better place!_

" _We cannot tell you what an Unspeakable is or what an Unspeakable does. Our apologies! Understand, not everyone can be as special as an Unspeakable and so not everyone can know what they do! We're hoping that you remain interested in this wonderful career and embrace the mystery!_

" _You will be required to take a series of rigorous aptitude tests to determine your level of skill in various areas. You cannot prepare, because we will not inform you ahead of time what you will be tested on. You must be able to think on your feet!_

" _Remember, silence is key! Have a wonderful day and thank you for supporting the Ministry of Magic!"_

* * *

Remus stared at Sirius, shocked. "You think I died?" he questioned faintly.

Sirius shrugged. "You're in the same state as I'm in, and I'm guessing you woke up here suddenly with no recollection of how you got here." At Remus' stunned expression, he said, "I thought so. Maybe this was a crazy plan to bring us back somehow."

"Are you being serious? Don't say it," Remus warned, when he saw Sirius about to make the joke.

Sirius smirked but then came back to task. "Yes, I believe it's true. Look at everything around us." He motioned to the spotlight setups. "She's clever enough to come up with something crazy like this."

Remus looked at Hermione before gently touching her shoulder. "Hermione? Wake up. It's Remus and Sirius." Nothing. Remus frowned. He glanced to the side and saw her wand lying next to her. Grabbing it, he muttered " _Ennervate"._ Hermione's eyelashes fluttered.

Sirius and Remus waited with baited breath, and finally, her eyes opened. Sirius spoke first.

"Hermione, can you hear us? It's Sirius."

Hermione looked around, dazed, before her gaze fell on Sirius and Remus. Her eyes narrowed a bit and she scooted backward as much as she could in the state she was in, much to their surprise.

"Who the hell are you? Why am I here?!"

* * *

" _Why are you still here, Hermione?" Remus asked, a tone in his voice that bordered on unfriendly. "You fulfilled your purpose to Harry, Ron, and the Order by helping to find the Horcruxes and bringing back Sirius and me, so we don't need you anymore."_

 _Hermione stared at him in shock. "Remus… What are you saying?"_

 _Remus threw up his hands in a gesture of frustration. "You were only ever good for studying and research. You were of no use in any other way. In all honesty, you were nothing but a liability."_

 _Tears had begun to flow down Hermione's cheeks and she didn't know how to respond. He had voiced her deepest fears, her fear of rejection and not having a place to belong, and she couldn't even find it in her to be angry. She was just immeasurably sad._ ' _I think I always knew this day would come_ ,' _she thought bitterly._

" _Hermione, why are you surprised?" he said in what she could tell was forced gentleness, as if he were impatiently reprimanding a small child. There was pity in his gaze that was edge in contempt. Hermione's heart constricted in her chest. 'Not Remus. Not Remus, please_ ,' _she begged silently._

" _What do you mean?" she whispered hoarsely, her throat constricted with emotion._

 _The pitying look intensified. "You'll never be one of us, Hermione. You're not a real witch."_

 _Hermione stared at him, horrified. "What do you mean,_ I'm not a real witch? _I am! Just because I'm Muggle-born doesn't make me any less of a witch, Remus! Professor Dumbledore would never have sent me a letter otherwise!" she cried through her sobs. Remus only shook his head._

" _No," he said, with his voice hardening, "And I could never love anyone like you, someone beneath me in every way." He sneered in a manner so uncharacteristic of him that she took a step back. Hermione's sobs intensified to such a level that her body ached and her head was splitting. Unable to handle the stress of the situation any longer, she turned and vomited before falling to her knees._

* * *

Needless to say, Harry was emotionally drained. In a span of less than an hour, he had been reunited with two of the greatest men he had known and had found out that one of his best friends had no recollection whatsoever of who Remus and Sirius were. He ran his hands down his face. Hermione had been at St. Mungo's for three days in the Spell Damage ward, and the Healers just could not figure out what had happened. The only thing they could think of was that she hit her head during her "little experiment", as they called it, but they said it was unlikely since there was no head trauma. Remus and Sirius couldn't be much help either. They were dead for most of the process and unconscious for the rest, finding Hermione only after she herself was unconscious as well. With nothing truly physically wrong with her, the Healers planned on releasing Hermione that day. They told everyone that her memories may come back with time or they may not come back at all, that only time would tell.

The news had devastated Remus. He wasn't proud of it, but he'd had feelings for Hermione, even after marrying Tonks. He could never regret Tonks, never. She had given him one of the most precious gifts, a beautiful son, and was one of the sweetest people he'd ever met. That made him feel even guiltier about what he felt for Hermione. He had hoped his feelings would go away after he married Tonks, but they remained constant.

Finding out Tonks was dead greatly saddened him in spite of the fact that she didn't hold every piece of his heart. He felt responsible for her death and would bear the burden for the rest of his life. Harry and Ron insisted it wasn't his fault, that she came to the battle of her own volition even though he told her to stay away, but it made no difference to him. Now, the Hermione he knew was gone, because she didn't know him. He found that he was grieving her loss as if she had died.

* * *

 _MAGICAL MENTALITY: A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO MENTAL MAGIC_

 _Chapter 1 – Memory Charms_

" _The Memory Charm (also known as the Forgetfulness Charm), whose date of origin has been up for debate, is a spell used to remove a person's memory. This spell can be used in conjunction with the False Memory Charm (see Chapter 17), which adds a memory of the caster's own making. In most cases, these memories can be restored to the original target of the spell. Please note this removing and returning of memories should not be confused with that of the nature of a pensieve (see Chapter 33)…"_

 _Chapter 33 – The Pensieve_

" _Pensieves are useful magical containers that allow witches and wizards to store their memories when they feel as though they just have no more room in their heads. These memories can be accessed at any time unless the pensieve is locked away from prying eyes, which could be a danger if someone unfavorable stumbled upon it. Unlike Memory Charms, the magic of a pensieve differs in that you retain some measure of your memory upon removal, therefore, making it unnecessary to return them to your head. There is much debate surrounding whether or not a memory can be entirely removed. Further, it is unknown what happens to the memories inside of a pensieve if it is destroyed. There are no documented instances of a pensieve being destroyed, and it is unlikely that it is possible due to the pensieve's hardy (and, as far as we know, indestructible) nature…"_

* * *

Hermione's status as a war heroine raised priority surrounding solving her memory problem. The special team of curse breakers, charm specialists, Aurors, and experts in uniquely magical objects had managed to conclude only three things from the evidence that they had. First, there was a substantial chance that she used one or more spells unknown to anyone but her. Second, her obvious intention had been to pull people from the Veil. Three, something backfired, and likely had to do with the fact that only two people exited the Veil when it appeared there should have been three.

The curse breakers and charm specialists could not reverse engineer her spell (or spells), as there was absolutely no trace of magic left from whatever she had accomplished. By rights, she should not have been successful in doing what she did, and that made pinpointing exactly what she may have done to hoodwink the Veil even more challenging. The magical objects experts examined the pensieves from every angle, and they finally came to only one possible, yet absolutely terrifying, conclusion. She likely was using a spell that used memories specific to one person in order to summon them back from the Veil, and the spells destabilized, triggering her memories being forcibly removed from her head. With dismay, they suspected that the strands of her memories were flung into the Veil and she cast the spells.

No one knew why everything destabilized in this way, but after some speculation, it was decided that Hermione didn't have the appropriate balance between the spotlights. After thoroughly examining the scene, they could only conclude from what little evidence that they had that Tonks' spotlight was central to the problem. Judging by the fact that Hermione's memories were gone, Tonks' pensieve likely had too few memories inside and the spell's magic had to compensate by using Hermione's connection to the spotlights as a conduit for pulling the memories straight from her head. Unfortunately, there was no way for her to control such an occurrence, and no trace of any of these memories would remain, even the remnants left of the memories pulled for Remus and Sirius' pensieves. After relaying this to the charm experts, a consensus was made: it was very likely Hermione's memories were gone forever.

* * *

Remus walked to Hermione's hospital room, with both heavy feet and heavy heart. He had wanted to bring her flowers, but he figured it'd be creepy for her to have someone she didn't know show up with a bouquet of dahlias, her favorite flower. 'After all, what stranger would know intimate details about her unless they were stalking her?' he mused, his heart constricting painfully.

When he entered her room with a brief knock, she smiled at him politely, the kind of smile you give to coworker you only see once or twice a week, or an old woman at the market you're trying to brush past. It cut more deeply than it should have. She should have been smiling her sunlit smile reserved for friends and loved ones. He didn't think he'd ever see that smile pointed in his direction again.

"Hello… um, I'm so sorry, are you Remus or Sirius? I haven't seen much of the two of you since I've been here." Her smile turned slightly apologetic.

Remus wanted to let out a sob. "Ah…" He cleared his throat as he tried to reign in his emotions. "I'm- I'm Remus. It's a pleasure to meet you, Hermione." He tried to smile at her, but he was positive it came out as a pained grimace.

It seemed like she caught on. Her eyes softened slightly, a look characteristic of Hermione's caring nature. "I think we were probably close, before… before all of this happened, right?" she asked.

"Um… yes, we were friends. I looked out for you, Harry, and Ron during the war," he said softly.

She smiled at him again. Politely. He cringed on the inside. "Well, thank you, Remus. From what Harry has told me, you are very important to him. You and Sirius both. I trust Harry's judgment, so if he feels as strongly about you as I know he does, then I know you're both good men."

* * *

 _When Remus had found out that he was going to be a father, he had been scared and excited at the same time. It meant so much to him that he was getting the life he thought he'd never have, one with a wife and a child, a home. He was scared, however, that his curse would ruin the child's life, in spite of everyone's protests. He was scared he'd never be able to provide everything both Tonks and the baby needed. Most of all, he was, shamefully in his opinion, scared that Hermione was forever out of reach. He knew that they could never be together regardless. But… having a baby made it seem so real, and so very sad._

" _Congratulations, Remus!" He turned to face Hermione's warm smile._

 _He smiled back weakly. "Thank you, Hermione."_

 _Somehow, she noticed that something was troubling him. "What's the matter? Is this your whole 'I'm a werewolf and unworthy of anything good!' spiel again?" she said with a roll of her eyes._

 _He sighed, "You've always been perceptive, Hermione." 'Although, not completely right this time,' he thought._

 _Hermione adopted a stern stance. "Remus, you are more worthy of happiness than anyone I know, and you are the kindest, bravest man I have ever met. Your child won't be a werewolf, and you'll raise him to be a great person like you, regardless of your financial status or your age," she said vehemently, eye sparkling._

 _Remus' smile turned genuine. "I appreciate that, Hermione. I don't think I'm as great as you say, but I'm honored that you think so highly of me."_

" _We are our own worst critic," she quoted. "You're going to be just fine. You, Tonks, and Teddy. Keep your chin up, Remus!"_

* * *

Hermione's words should have had a positive effect on his mood, but it made everything worse. Even when she couldn't remember him, she was so incredibly _Hermione_ that it made his heart shrivel up and his stomach drop. Her goodness was an inherent part of her, one that she showed to everyone, stranger or not. It was part of what made him love her.

He felt so suffocated suddenly. He needed to get out of the room.

"Thank you, Hermione," Remus murmured. "That's very kind of you to say, considering you… don't know me." He choked on his words and he hoped she didn't notice. "I- I just wanted to check on you since Harry hasn't been by yet today… I hope that's okay."

"Of course!" she said. "I'm glad I got to meet you!" Her smile brightened.

Never had anything cut through him so sharply and solidly. _I'm glad I got to meet you_. 'You know me!' he screamed internally. 'I love you, please! Please remember me!' But nothing shifted in her expression, no sudden recollection. 'Oh, God. Oh _God!'_ He knew he was about to break down, he could feel it. Anxiety and panic and sadness burned under his skin, making it itch. He needed to go, _now_.

"I…" his throat burned and clogged, strangling his speech. "I think I'm- I'm going to head out now. Harry should… he should be here soon."

Hermione looked at him with something akin to pity and he thought that in a strange way, as if she didn't understand why, she looked sad. "Thank you for coming, and Remus?" she called as he began to turn away. He turned back expectantly. She smiled again and said, "Keep your chin up!"

He only made it to the hallway before his anguish strangled him and swallowed him whole.

* * *

 **AN** : Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!

 **Edit** : I just wanted to make a couple of quick notes. I wasn't exactly planning on continuing this story for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to emphasize how devastated Remus was by the situation, and how much actually witnessing it in person affected him. Second, I kind of wanted to leave the ending up to the reader since any number of scenarios could have followed this point. Finally, I didn't really have a sure plan for a continuation since this idea kind of just punched me in the face and I had to write it. I may continue this in the future if the stars align, but for right now, I think I'll be leaving it here. Thanks for reading! :)

\- _Mrs. Lupin  
_

 _Also, please note that I've changed my name from **My Patronus Glows in the Dark**._


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